NEWS
Saturday’s military parade in Washington will be marching into a political maelstrom.
By Helene Cooper, The New York Times
“‘The president’s decision to call the National Guard troops to Los Angeles was premature, and the decision to deploy active-duty Marines as well is downright escalatory,’ Representative Betty McCollum, Democrat of Minnesota, said at a House committee hearing on Tuesday as lawmakers grilled Mr. Hegseth. ‘Active-duty military has absolutely no role in domestic law enforcement, and they are not trained for those missions.’”
Hegseth, McCollum spar over L.A. riots, response to unrest after George Floyd murder
By Christopher Vondracek, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“‘I asked about the budget,’ McCollum said, repeatedly. ‘Where are you pulling the money from?’”
Hegseth asserts Trump can send troops anywhere to protect ICE agents conducting raids
By Anne Flaherty and Luis Martinez, ABC News
"‘Active-duty military has absolutely no role in domestic law enforcement, and they are not trained for those missions. I ask you, Mister secretary, and I ask the president, follow the law,’ [McCollum] said.”
Defense officials say Marines, National Guard in LA 'fully trained' amid concerns about domestic deployment
By Good Morning America
“Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, insisted the Marines aren't trained for a domestic mission.”
Hegseth slammed for LA deployments
By Good Morning America
“Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his actions and the responses the Trump administration made during the ongoing Los Angeles ICE protests.”
Hegseth slammed for LA deployments
By ABC News
“McCollum, the ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said Trump calling the National Guard was ‘escalatory’ and that deploying Marines was uncalled for.”
Key Lawmaker Questions Hegseth Decision to Slash Test Office
By Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg News
“Representative Betty McCollum, the top Democrat on Calvert’s panel, said in a statement that ‘we haven’t seen any analysis to justify this decision.’”
General Atomics Demonstrates PFAS Destruction System for Minnesota Congresswoman, State and Local Officials
By General Atomics
“SAN DIEGO – 09 June 2025 - General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) and other members of state and local government attended a real-time demonstration of the complete destruction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) waste streams using GA-EMS’ PERSES™ waste destruction system at a site located in Lake Elmo, MN on Friday, May 30. The PERSES system is currently on-site at the Lake Elmo facility for a four-week period to demonstrate the system’s industrial-scale capabilities to destroy a wide variety of PFAS and PFAS contaminated waste. The PERSES system will then be shipped to other suitable test sites for additional on-site PFAS destruction testing and demonstrations.”
Democrats accuse Gabbard of illegal interference in IG office
By Warren P. Strobel and Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post
“The letter was signed by Sen. Mark R. Warner (Virginia) and Rep. Jim Himes (Connecticut), the top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence committees; and Sen. Chris Coons (Delaware) and Rep. Betty McCollum (Minnesota), ranking Democrats on the chambers’ defense appropriations subcommittees.”
morning take | Special Session Preview
By Blois Olson, Fluence Media
“RESPONSE: via a Rep. Betty McCollum statement, McCOLLUM: ‘President [Donald] Trump is deliberately escalating the situation in Los Angeles by calling up the National Guard without a request from Governor [Gavin] Newsom. This decision is downright dangerous. Secretary [Pete] Hegseth’s statement implying active duty Marines could also be called up is outrageous. The active duty military has absolutely no legal role in domestic law enforcement. President Trump and Secretary Hegseth should read the Constitution and follow the law.’”
Retiring City Administrator Clint Gridley Celebrated
By Woodbury News Net
“Josh Straka, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. McCollum, presented a letter of appreciation from the Congresswoman along with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol.”
Minnesota group calls Trump travel ban ‘cruel’ as it assesses impact on state
By Tim Harlow, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“Minnesota U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum also called out Trump’s focus on Laos, saying he ‘betrays our American values’ by restricting travel from countries ‘he doesn’t like.’”
U.S. House Passes FASD Authorization in the Support Act: Legislation Will Deliver Support to Individuals with FASD
By FASD United
“The authorizing language, The FASD Respect Act, has been a several years long bi-partisan effort led by Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Don Bacon (R-NE) in the House and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in the Senate to address FASD on the national level and positively impact the lives of people across the country living with FASD and prenatal substance exposure.”
Hot Dish: Congress returns. Is a Wednesday special session possible in Minnesota?
By Sydney Kashiwagi, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“Bipartisan push on for Minnesota magnets. Reps. Betty McCollum and Brad Finstad teamed up to pen a letter urging Congress and Trump to get behind rare-earth-free magnet manufacturing amid a trade war with China. “
Legislative Update - June 2, 2025
By Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, Minnesota House of Representatives
“This past Saturday I joined Congresswoman Betty McCollum, along with my fellow State Representatives, for an important conversation at the Medicaid Matters Town Hall.
The event featured a panel of expert speakers who highlighted the real-life consequences of the GOP’s ‘Billionaire Tax Giveaway’ bill. This proposal would strip healthcare coverage from 20,000 Minnesotans. Congresswoman McCollum offered critical updates on this harmful legislation and its far-reaching impact.”
Waste destruction system in Lake Elmo aims to remove PFAS from water
By John Lauritsen, WCCO
“‘We are in this together. We are one team making sure our constituents have safe drinking water,’ said DFL Rep. Betty McCollum.”
PFAS-destroying technology featured in Lake Elmo demonstration project
By Mark Zdechlik, MPR News
“U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-MN, and others hope the technology, currently being used for concentrated contaminated water, can be scaled up to process drinking water. McCollum, who helped secure Defense Department funding for the technology, said there could not be a better place to highlight the process.”
The US has an urgent magnet problem. Here's how we fix it.
By Reps. Betty McCollum (D-MINN) and Brad Finstad (R-MINN), The Hill
“‘Let’s be clear, we are not referring to the magnets we have on our refrigerators for the coupon, recipe or the most recent school photo. Rare earth permanent magnets are essential to the automotive, aerospace and consumer electronic industries, as well as virtually all advanced defense capabilities. Almost every major defense system, from fighter jet engines, precision guidance munitions, military vehicles, radar jammers, satellite radios, power generators, and countless other national security applications require rare earth permanent magnets.’"
D.C. Memo: Dems see Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ as a ‘big, beautiful political gift’
By Ana Radelat, MinnPost
“‘The ugly truth of Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is that it strips away healthcare from 20,000 Minnesotans with disabilities, seniors, children, and working parents in Minnesota’s 4th Congressional District — that’s the equivalent of every resident of Stillwater losing their healthcare overnight,’ said Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum in a statement. ‘The ugly truth is that 45,000 Minnesotans will go hungry without the SNAP food assistance they rely on — the equivalent of every resident of Maplewood going to bed hungry and waking up hungry.’”
How Every Member Voted on the G.O.P. Megabill
By Martín González Gómez, Jon Huang, Alicia Parlapiano, and Lily Boyce, The New York Times
“[Betty McCollum, Minn. 4th, NO]”